HIGH FAT DIET FEEDING IN FEMALE MICE AFFECTS OVARIAN FUNCTION.

CANDELA VELAZQUEZ; NOELIA CARNOVALE; MARIELA BILOTAS; MASSILLO CINTIA; MERESMAN GABRIELA; FERNANDA PARBORELL; DALHIA ABRAMOVICH

Mar del Plata

Congreso; Reunión Anual de Sociedades de Biociencias; 2020

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica

Female fertility is highly dependent on a correct energy balance. Metabolic disturbances are increasingly common in women of reproductive age, leading to menstrual dysfunction, subfertility and pregnancy complications. However, it is still not clear how high fat diet (HFD) affects reproductive function.Angiogenesis is a physiological process in the ovary that allows the correct follicular development. Alterations in the balance of pro and anti angiogenic factors may cause ovarian pathologies. Hypothesis: HFD causes ovarian alterations that affect follicular development and ovulation.Objective: To analyze the effects of a HFD on metabolism and ovarian function in female mice. Methodology: 21 days-old female C57BL/6 mice were fed with a HFD (45Kcal% fat) or a control diet during 14 weeks. The animals were weighed once a week. Estrus cycle was evaluated by vaginal cytology and glycemia was measured. After the sacrifice, serum, gonadal and visceral fat and the ovaries were extracted to measure metabolic parameters and to perform histochemical and western blot analysis. Unpaired t-test was used. Results: the animals fed with a HFD had higher body weight, glycemia, total cholesterol (Cho), HDL-Cho and LDL-Cho. Their adipocytes were hypertrophied and the animals showed increased gonadal and visceral adipose tissue. The estrus cycle was shorter in HFD-fed animals compared to controls. The number of cycles was increased in the HFD group. However, anovulatory stages were longer in HFD animals. In the ovary, periendothelial cell area and cellular proliferation were increased, while the percentage of corpora lutea was decreased. In addition, PDGFB was decreased in the ovaries of HFD-fed animals.Conclusion: HFD feeding affects metabolism and ovarian function, leading to an alteration in the estrous cycle and a decrease in ovulation. Changes in cellular proliferation, periendothelial cell area and PDGFB may be some of the possible causes of the observed alterations.